The madness that is pre-Christmas December doesn’t seem like the optimum time to launch a new restaurant. Or is it? The critics have already filed their newspaper columns in anticipation of the Christmas break so if you’re lucky, they’ll give you a break before darkening your doors. Christmas party meals will already have been booked well in advance, so hopefully less of the tiresome Christmas jumper crowd.
Hera, the sister restaurant to Northside pub Juno, started service on December 13th, sliding quietly under the festive radar. If you’re au fait with your classics, you might recognise the Greek and Roman queens of the gods, thus giving you a hint of where this kitchen draws its influences.
Friends Jamie McCarthy & Sean Crescenzi (also of Crudo, Achara and The Fourth Corner) are behind Juno and Hera, and they’ve recruited young chef Joe Smith to lead the kitchen. With a pedigree that includes Bastible and As One, will this pairing be as successful as their venture with Graeme Reynolds in Achara?
Dinner on the first Friday of the new year shows a restaurant that is nicely ticking over, not packed, but reasonably busy. Hera occupies one half of the gentrified old man pub, and it’s a little cold inside, but I warm up with a very tasty Melograno tequila cocktail, enlivened by a touch of basil and pomegranate (€13).
The menu consists of what is now the standard - snacks, small plates and big plates. When you think about it, ‘snacks’ are a clever way to get people to order more and bump up the overall bill, and we certainly do, opting for the taramasalata and oysters.
Carlingford oysters come pre-poached, topped with a little pat of smoked West Cork butter (€3) before being quickly torched at the table. The result is a beautiful salty fattiness that lingers after the oyster is gone. This has got to be one of the best oyster serves in town right now.
A generous dollop of creamy smoked cod taramasalata comes with a pile of crunchy, salty homemade crisps (€8). A few scoops later, and I come to the conclusion that while both parts are good, they’re better off apart as the saltiness of the crisps overpowers the subtle smokiness of the taramasalata. Even so, my hands take on a mind of their own, sneaking off to get another hit.
My photographs of the chorizo scotch egg aren’t up to muster, but I’ll let you imagine a gorgeously runny bright orange egg yolk encased in spicy sausage meat, accentuated by the zingy preserved lemon and basil aioli (€13). Purple broccoli fritti appear more to be more of the standard green type, in a crunchy tempura style batter and a miso bagna cauda (€12). I ordered this dish specifically because of the heady promise of anchovies and garlic, but the Hera version of bagna cauda is plant-based, made using almonds and garlic. It’s quite nice, but I do feel a little let down by unfulfilled promise of those glorious salty little fishies.
Main courses are very keenly priced with two creative vegetarian mains of pumpkin & Toonsbridge scamorza ‘lasagne’ or aubergine schnitzel with sugo on offer at €19 each, while the Delmonico ribeye is the costliest at €30. That’s some seriously good value and is definitely going to appeal.
We go upmarket, ordering the sharing ‘fish pie’ (€58). There’s no dense mashed potato topping or flaky puff pastry lid here, but instead a scattering of pecorino rosti that covers a mix of monkfish, prawns, mussels and trout, in a lightly creamy lobster bisque. Oh, and there’s trout caviar too. But it’s the side salad of grapefruit, radicchio and winter leaves that really wows me, sharp and fresh, a refreshing contrast to the creamy saffron notes of the bisque.
There’s some good food provenance going too, with McLoughlins butchers, Feighcullen poultry, Glenmar seafood, Italicatessen, Mark the mushroom butcher and OakSmoke bakery featured on the menu. The wine list is simple, with good prices to match the food.
All in all, I’m pleasantly happy leaving Hera, though next time, I’ll skip the fish pie and try some of the cheaper main dishes (roast chicken on the bone with mojo rojo butter for €21 or wild venison sausages and lentils for €20). The mix of Mediterranean flavour served up by Smith gently pushes boundaries, while also staying reassuringly within eyeshot of solid ground. I think Northsiders will be rather pleased with their new goddess.
Nice to meet you on the night (Jo's husband). Hera is indeed a nice addition to the Northside. That side salad was impressive.
Liam